England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Llandough juxta Cowbridge St Dochwy

The Parish

The parish of Llandough, given the suffix "juxta Cowbridge" to distinguish it from the Llandough near Penarth. lies in southern Glamorgan just over a mile south of the market town of Cowbridge. Llandough sits a similar distance south of the A48 road which connects Cardiff with Bridgend through Cowbrdge. Llandough is a small village gathered around its castle, the castle is actually the remains of an early 15th century fortified house rather than some imposing Norman edifice. The village sits on a ridge above a well-wooded incised valley and is largely built around a T-junction of lanes. The soils here are a fertile mix based upon underlying limestone and sandstone which readily lent themselves to arable farming with much of the parish acreage that is not wooded set to arable. Llandough is drained southeastwards by the River Thaw which turns more southerly before reaching the outer Bristol Channel at the industrial complex of Aberthaw. Llandough is sited at around 40 metres above the sea, some 20 metres higher than the river, the land rises westwards reaching a spot height of 96 metres as the highest point nearby. Llandough parish was one of the smaller in its county covering merely 586 acres and supporting close to 100 parishioners. Like most of Wales Llandough is not mentioned in Domesday Book which did not cover this area.

The Church

St Dochwy's church sits in the heart of the village on the eastern side of Castle Precinct and a few yards south of the castle. Whilst the church undoubtedly has medieval origins the dating thereof has been markedly compromised by a heavy restoration in Victorian times. Pevsner indicates only the southern porch to be wholly original and dateable to the 15th century Perpendicular period within which the main body also lies. The restoration of 1869 amounted to an almost complete rebuild and, as was newly re-fashionable at that time, introduced design elements from the 13th century Early English Gothic period such as lancet windows. The church is small and simple with just nave and chancel augmented by that southern porch, northern vestry and the double bell gable. Castle Precinct is quiet and of adequate width to allow on-street parking outside the churchyard. With the exception of a prominent tree to the southeast all other angles are available to the photographer.